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Few conditions are as wrenching as the destruction of memory known as Alzheimer’s, and few diseases have so eluded drug companies and researchers looking for a cure. So it’s welcome news that the Food and Drug Administration is inviting more innovation, and more broadly revamping the agency’s review process. FDA recently updated its scientific thinking on early Alzheimer’s, along with other neurological conditions, and this matters because such draft guidance informs industry and academic efforts. One reality of Alzheimer’s is that the disease may “progress invisibly for years,” as Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in the announcement, and by the time clinical symptoms arrive a patient may have lost significant function. (3/11)

By making their Affordable Care Act marketplaces and Medicaid programs more conservative, the leaders of several red states may actually strengthen the ACA and Medicaid by creating a stronger Republican constituency for both programs. The bottom line: As they make a series of changes — through waivers and other means — to swing the programs to the right, those state leaders are building a broader political base for the programs in red states. That could make ACA repeal and Medicaid cuts an even tougher sell in the future than it is now. (Drew Altman, 3/12)

If Gov. John Kasich is to be judged on the values he says he tried to follow during his two terms, attention must be paid to the Medicaid work requirements his administration seeks to impose as his tenure winds down. For good or bad, Kasich will be remembered for bucking his Republican colleagues and the usual legislative process to expand Medicaid, the federal/state program of health care for the poor and disabled. Now advocates for Ohio’s neediest citizens say Kasich’s legacy of extending help to those less fortunate is threatened by proposed new rules requiring Medicaid recipients to either work or meet exemptions to continue their health-care access. (3/12)

Without action in Washington, premiums will continue to rise year after year. Covered California’s analysis predicts premium hikes of 35 percent by 2021 in 15 states, including California. Seventeen states will see 90 percent premium spikes by 2021. (3/10)

In the U.S., our politics have largely failed us when it comes to creating the conditions that allow us to be healthy. This failure began in the 1980s, when we started to disinvest in the policies and institutions that foster health. (Sandro Galea, 3/12)

Most people buy insurance to protect financially against potentially catastrophic events and emergencies. But if you have health insurance through Anthem, a health insurance company that covers an astounding 1 in 8 Americans, watch out: You may be on your own in an emergency. Anthem has introduced a restriction on emergency care coverage, effectively denying most if not all coverage if they decide after your ED visit that you didn’t have an emergency condition. (Shih-Chuan (Andrew) Chou and Jeremiah D. Schuur, 3/9)

The Trump administration’s answer to questions surrounding family planning and safe sex is to give preference for $260 million in grants to groups stressing abstinence and “fertility awareness.” Instead of urging at-risk members of the public to use condoms and other forms of protection, the administration favors far-less safe and effective measures such as the rhythm method. A president who is currently fighting to keep secret the details of his 2006 sexual liaison with a porn star probably is the last person to serve as a national role model on this issue. But even this administration can do better to raise public awareness on the importance of family planning. (3/11)

New pro-life legislation has the NARAL Pro-Choice America up in arms. A new bill making its way through the Mississippi legislature would limit abortions to no later than 15 weeks, making it one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States. Currently, abortion laws in 20 states have restrictions that prohibit “partial-birth” abortions, but the passage of this bill would signify significant progress for the pro-life movement, which has been pushing for stronger pro-life policies nationwide. (Jen Kerns, 3/11)

There is a new push in antiabortion circles to pass state laws aimed at barring women from terminating their pregnancies after the fetus has been determined to have Down syndrome. These laws are unconstitutional, unenforceable — and wrong. ...North Dakota, Ohio, Indiana and Louisiana passed legislation to prohibit doctors from performing abortions if the sole reason is because of a diagnosis of Down syndrome; Utah’s legislature is debating such a bill. These laws are flatly inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, reaffirmed in 1992, that “it is a constitutional liberty of the woman to have some freedom to terminate her pregnancy.” (Ruth Marcus, 3/9)

More people in the United States are on antidepressants, as a percentage of the population, than any other country in the world. And yet the drugs’ efficacy has been hotly debated. Some believe that the short-term benefits are much more modest than widely thought, and that harms may outweigh benefits in the long run. Others believe that they work, and that they can be life-changing.Settling this debate has been much harder than you might think. (Aaron E. Carroll, 3/12)

For evidence that the tide is turning on responsible gun regulation, Florida is now Exhibit A.The state’s politicians have long produced some of the most irresponsible gun proposals in the U.S., encouraging concealed carry of firearms and enacting “Stand Your Ground” laws that shielded reckless shooters from responsibility. This week, they took a new and promising direction. (3/9)

In raising prices, [Martin] Shkreli was doing what lots of other biotech and pharma CEOs did, and still do to various degrees. Legally. This is the inconvenient truth that some in the biopharma industry are still running away from, three years after Shkreli sparked a nationwide conversation — some might call it a shaming — about the pricing and affordability of prescription drugs. (Adam Feuerstein, 3/9)

Mental health and substance use disorders affect society in ways that go beyond the direct cost of care. Without effective treatment, people with these health conditions may find it difficult to find or maintain a job, may be less able to pursue education and training opportunities, may require more social support services, and are more likely to have their housing stability threatened. (Roland Behm, 3/10)

More than one million Kentuckians, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, reside in a Health Care Professional Shortage Area, where the number of health-care providers relative to the population is far below the federal standard.  One in every four Kentuckians resides in one of 87 HPSAs, and lacks access to the most fundamental health care services — services that highly qualified, nationally board-certified Advanced Practice Registered Nurses could better provide, if not for an antiquated law. (Wendy Fletcher, 3/7)

Studies show that female veterans can face greater challenges than their male counterparts when re-entering civilian life. They often experience gaps in medical care and see higher rates of unemployment. (Alaina Foster, 3/10)

Aren’t we asking a bit too much of these hourly, entry-level employees? Any meaningful reform of the broken mental health system has to include improving conditions for these workers. Psych facilities will be safe for our kids only if the workers are qualified, well-trained and fairly compensated. (Keri Williams, 3/10)